Sermon by Father Alex McAllister SDS                   Index

Palm Sunday 2003 Homily

Today we celebrate Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We heard in our first Gospel about the procession that Jesus got up and how the people shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus knew quite well what he was doing. He knew the authorities would not welcome him as they ought. He knew what was to come—all the events so eloquently described by St Mark in the Passion Reading we have just heard. It was all inevitable. Or rather, with Jesus’ co-operation it was all inevitable.

And so he gets up his own procession—with his disciples dusty from the road, and with the purloined colt, and with the common people.

We had a Palm Sunday procession last Monday in the school—a bit early and we didn’t have any palms! But we did have a donkey and a lot of children including the kindergarten from First Steps and the pupils with learning difficulties from New Siblands School.

Like Jesus we got up our own procession and we followed behind the donkey singing and occasionally stopping to listen to the pupils who took the various parts in the story.

We then went into the hall and followed the Stations of the Cross. At each station one of the pupils took on the role of one of the characters who were involved in Jesus’ crucifixion: Pontius Pilate, Veronica, the Bad Thief, the Good Thief and so on—they told us the story from their point of view.

Later on we celebrated a Passover Meal and on another day we re-enacted the washing of the feet. It all made things come to life and I am certain that because of all this the children are now well prepared to celebrate the events of Holy Week as they come round.

By reading this account of the Passion we have done what the children in our school did; we have gone over the whole story and reminded ourselves what it is we are commemorating in this greatest of all weeks. We have reminded ourselves what it is all about and then as the week goes by we will commemorate these events one by one.

With this Eucharist we now begin Holy Week. We follow in the liturgy the steps Jesus took from Mount of Olives to Mount Calvary to the Holy Sepulchre. We suffer with him, we die to sin and rise with him to new life.

This is a week of story, and more than this for it is truly a week of glory.